
adj.
Manifesting or feeling contempt; scornful.
contemptuously con·temp'tu·ous·ly adv.
contemptuousness con·temp'tu·ous·ness n.
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American Heritage Dictionary:
con·temp·tu·ous |

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Word Overheard by Answers.com:
piquant |
Is President Bush's new domestic policy advisor, Karl Zinsmeister, piquant (appealingly provocative) or full of contempt? Depends on how you spin it. Recently, reporter Helen Thomas asked White House press secretary Tony Snow:
"Why did the President pick a man who is so contemptible of the public servants in Washington to be his Domestic Advisor -- saying, 'People in Washington are morally repugnant, cheating, shifty human beings'? Why would he pick such a man to be a Domestic Advisor?"
The press secretary corrected the doyenne's vocabulary, then zinged her back:
"You meant contemptuous, as opposed to contemptible, I think... [Zinsmeister] is somebody who expresses himself with a certain amount of piquancy -- you're perhaps familiar with that, aren't you, Helen?"
Link: Press Briefing by Tony Snow
Posted June 6, 2006.
See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.
Roget's Thesaurus:
contemptuous |
adjective
Antonyms by Answers.com:
contemptuous |
Definition: arrogant, insolent
Antonyms: humble, polite, respected, shy
Random House Word Menu:
categories related to 'contemptuous' |

Rhymes:
contemptuous |
Translations:
Contemptuous |
Nederlands (Dutch)
ver-/minachtend
Français (French)
adj. - dédaigneux, méprisant
Deutsch (German)
adj. - verächtlich, geringschätzig
Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - περιφρονητικός, καταφρονητικός
Português (Portuguese)
adj. - desdenhoso
Русский (Russian)
презрительный
Español (Spanish)
adj. - despreciativo, desdeñoso, despectivo
Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - föraktfull
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
轻蔑的, 瞧不起人的, 侮辱的
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 輕蔑的, 瞧不起人的, 侮辱的
한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 모욕적인, 경멸하는
日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 人をばかにした, 軽蔑的な, 軽蔑して
العربيه (Arabic)
(صفه) مستهين ب, مستحقر, مستخف
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| supercilious | |
| dismissive | |
| scornful |
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![]() | American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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![]() | Roget's Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 byHoughton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
![]() | Antonyms by Answers.com. © 1999-present by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved. Read more | |
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| Rhymes. Oxford University Press. © 2006, 2007 All rights reserved. Read more | ||
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